Self-whitening coffee and method of manufacture thereof

ABSTRACT

A self-whitening spray dried instant coffee is prepared by spray drying a caseinate-free aqueous emulsion having a pH of 5.5 to 9.0 and consisting essentially of 30-80% water and 20-70% solids, wherein the solids contain, on a dry weight basis, 10-70% soluble coffee, 5-60% oil, 0-85% filler, and 0-10% emulsifier.

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/190,201filed on Nov. 10, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,177,119.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to spray dried self-whitening instantcoffee compositions, to aqueous compositions for preparation thereof,and to methods of preparing the compositions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known in the art to prepare instant coffee beverages from drymix compositions which include a particulate soluble coffee componentand a particulate “creamer” or whitener component. Such compositionsalso may contain a sweetener component and various optional componentssuch as bulking agents, flavors, and coloring agents. Such compositionsmay be of the foaming type in which case the resulting beverage may beof the cappuccino type. Foaming may be caused by including a chemicalcarbonation system in the composition or by utilizing a low density (gasinjected) creamer, or both. Coffee whiteners utilized in suchcompositions may be of the dairy or non-dairy type and typically includea fat (“oil”) component, and a protein component which normally includescaseinate, a carbohydrate component.

One conventional method of preparing an instant coffee beveragecomposition involves dry blending of a particulate instant coffee and aparticulate whitener. However, the whitener tends to separate from thecoffee and the components may not dissolve at the same rate. Varioustechniques have been proposed to overcome these drawbacks. One suchproposal is to agglomerate the whitener and instant coffee.Agglomeration processes are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,433,962; and 3,706,572.

It has also been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,398,081 to wet-mix coffeeand milk as a liquid concentrate which is dried to provide a homogeneouswhitened instant coffee powder. A similar wet-mix method is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,620,733 in which milk or a milk derivative inconcentrated form is mixed by wet methods with coffee followed by spraydrying to form a whitened instant coffee.

A principal drawback associated with any instant coffee compositionscontaining caseinate or other lactic protein is that undesirable proteinaggregates may appear in the reconstituted beverage. The '733 patentattempts to avoid this problem by heat treatment, both before and afterconcentration, in order to carry out a controlled flocculation of wheyprotein.

It is an object of the present invention to provide spray dried selfwhitening instant coffee that can be easily produced and which avoidsthe formation of protein aggregates in beverages prepared from thecomposition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing and other objects which will be readily apparent to thosehaving ordinary skill in the art are achieved in accordance with thepresent invention by providing:

an aqueous emulsion having a pH of from 5.5 to 9, and consistingessentially of 30-80% water, and 20-70% solids, wherein the solidscontain, on a dry weight basis, 10-70% soluble coffee, a pH adjustmentagent in an amount sufficient to effect said pH, 5-60% oil, 0-85%filler, and 0-10% low molecular weight emulsifier;

an improved method of spray drying an aqueous coffee extract compositionto produce spray dried instant coffee wherein the aqueous coffee extractis the aqueous emulsion just described, whereby the spray dried coffeeproduct is self-whitening;

a method of preparing the emulsion which comprises providing an aqueouscomposition having a pH of from 5.5 to 9 and consisting essentially of30-80% water, and 20-70% solids, wherein the solids contain, on a dryweight basis, 10-70% soluble coffee, a pH adjustment agent in an amountsufficient to effect said pH, 5-60% oil, 0-85% filler, and 0-10% lowmolecular weight emulsifier;

subjecting said aqueous composition to high shear mixing to form anaqueous emulsion;

homogenizing said aqueous emulsion to form a homogenized aqueousemulsion; and

spray drying said homogenized aqueous emulsion to form a self-whiteningspray dried instant coffee;

a self-whitening spray dried instant coffee having an average particlesize of 50 to 200 gm, and consisting essentially of 10-700 solublecoffee, 5-60% oil, 0-85% filler, and 0-10% low molecular weightemulsifier on a dry weight basis, including the oil; and

a particulate dry mix instant cappuccino composition comprising theself-whitening spray dried instant coffee mentioned above and a chemicalfoam generating system comprising an acid and a carbonate orbicarbonate.

By “self-whitening instant coffee” is meant an instant coffee productwhich is whitened by emulsified oil to substantially the same extent ofwhitening that is achieved by whitening with a conventional dairy ornon-dairy coffee creamer or whitener.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides a particulate, self whitening spray driedinstant coffee product which is prepared from an aqueous emulsion whichcontains, as essential ingredients, a soluble coffee component, a pHadjustment component, an oil component, a filler component and anoptional low molecular weight emulsifier component. The instant coffeeproduct is obtained by spray drying the emulsion containing theessential ingredients, and spray drying can be effected with equipmentwidely employed commercially in making spray dried coffee and coffeewhiteners. The emulsion may be used as such to prepare a whitened coffeebeverage in which case the filler component may be omitted. However, forpreparing a spray dried product, a filler component is required to serveas a spray drying carrier to bind or encapsulate the oil component.

The soluble coffee component can be derived from any type of coffeebeans such as Robustas and Arabicas. The coffee may be decaffeinated orcaffeine-containing. The soluble coffee component is preferably providedas an aqueous extract, or percolate, of roasted and ground coffee or ofthermally or acid-hydrolyzed spent coffee grounds, and the aqueousextract is preferably obtained in the same manner that such extracts areprepared for use in the commercial production of spray dried or freezedried instant coffee. Alternatively, the soluble coffee component may beprovided as a particulate instant coffee, such as spray dried or freezedried coffee, in which case the coffee is dissolved in water in order toprepare the aqueous emulsion. The coffee component can be derived from asingle coffee or a plurality of different coffees and may be obtained bya single extraction or from a plurality of separate extractions or fromcombinations of the foregoing.

The soluble coffee component is suitably present in the aqueous emulsionin an amount of from 10-70%, preferably 15-60%, and more preferably30-45%. These percentages, and all percentages herein, are percentagesby weight based on the dry weight of the relevant composition includingthe weight of the oil, unless stated to the contrary.

If the amount of coffee in the composition is at the high end of therange, then the resultant spray-dried product tends to have a mediumbrown color, whereas a composition containing a lesser amount of coffeewill have a light brown color. Both, however, when reconstituted,provide a whitened coffee beverage.

In preparing the emulsion, it is preferred to first provide an aqueoussolution of the soluble coffee component as an aqueous solution having apH of 5.5 to 9, preferably 6 to 7.5, and more preferably 6.3 to 6.7. Thedesired pH is preferably accomplished by adding a pH adjustment agent toan aqueous solution of the soluble coffee component in an amountsufficient to effect the desired pH. Suitable pH adjustment agentsinclude buffers, such as sodium and disodium phosphate, fumarate,tartrate and maleate, disodium and dipotassium phosphate, and trisodiumand tripotassium citrate. A wide range of food grade buffers havingdifferent molecular weights, pKas and ionic charge densities are knownand may be used. Alkaline materials such as sodium and potassiumhydroxides, carbonates, and bicarbonates and calcium and magnesiumhydroxides and carbonates may also be used and generally in a lesseramount than a buffer to achieve the same pH. Various combinations ofbuffers or alkaline materials or both may be employed and the term “pHadjustment agent” as used herein is intended to include suchcombinations.

There are a wide number of oils which are known to be useful inparticulate, dry mix whiteners and any such oil can be employed as theoil component in the present invention. The oil component is preferablysolid at room temperature and more preferably has a melting point in therange of 30-60° C. Vegetable oils are preferred. Suitable vegetable oilsinclude soybean oil, canola oil, high-oleic sunflower oil or saffloweroil. Various combinations of such oils may also be employed. Partiallyhydrogenated soybean oil having a melting point of from 30-50° C. ispreferred. Dairy fats may also be employed. The term “oil” is intendedto include oils which are solid at room temperature (i.e., fats) as wellas those that are liquid at room temperature and is also intended toinclude combinations of such oils.

The oil component is suitably present in the aqueous emulsion in anamount of from 5-60%, preferably 15-50% and more preferably 25-40%. on adry weight basis.

The filler component of the invention functions as a spray dryingcarrier or oil encapsulation agent and may also act as a bulking agentand/or sweetening agent. Any of the fillers useful in particulate spraydried whitener compositions may be employed. Among such fillers,non-dairy carbohydrates such as corn syrup solids and maltodextrins, arepreferred. Other suitable fillers include modified starches,polydextrose, sweeteners such as sucrose, fructose, lactose, andmaltose, and encapsulants such as gelatin and gum arabic. Variouscombinations of the fillers may be used and the term “filler” isintended to include such combinations. The filler component may beomitted from the emulsion but, if present in the emulsion, is suitablypresent in the aqueous emulsion in an amount of up to 85%, preferably upto 60o on a dry weight basis, including the oil. More preferably, thefiller is present in an amount of 10-40%. At sufficiently high levels ofcoffee, generally exceeding 30% by weight, based on the weight of thesolids including the oil, the coffee can take the place of a fillersince the coffee is itself a good spray drying carrier.

The self whitening creamer may also employ a low molecular weightemulsifier component such as mono- and di-glycerides, polysorbates,DATEM, sodium stearoyl lactylate, and calcium stearoyl lactylate, inorder to enhance emulsification of the oil component. When present inthe emulsion, the low molecular weight emulsifier is present in anamount of up to 10%, preferably 2-6%, and more preferably 3-5% on a dryweight basis, including the oil. It is an essential feature of theinvention, however, that high molecular weight proteinaceous emulsionstabilizing agents, particularly caseinates, are not employed and arenot required to form the present stable emulsions. We have surprisinglyfound that the protein functionality of the soluble coffee componentapparently stabilizes the emulsion. This is surprising since it iswidely known that coffee roasting causes denaturing of coffee protein.See, for example, Coffee, Volume 1:Chemistry, R. J. Clarke and R.Macrae, Eds., Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, New York, 1987, pp.138-143.

The emulsion may be gas-injected prior to spray drying to impart foamingproperties to the spray dried self whitening coffee product. Gasinjection may be accomplished by conventional techniques such as thosedescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,147, U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,527, and U.S.Pat. No. 4,748,040. Gas injection reduces the density of the spray driedproduct, typically to provide a bulk density of about 0.1 to 0.3 g/cc.Without gas injection, the bulk density of the spray dried product isabout 0.3 to 0.6 g/cc.

The average particle size of the spray dried product, either with orwithout gas injection, is suitably about 50 to 200 μm, and the maximumparticle size is suitably about 3000 μm, and preferably about 1000 μm.

The self-whitening creamer may contain optional ingredients such asflavor and coloring components or other conventional components ofself-whitening creamers provided that such components do not materiallyaffect the basic and novel characteristics of the composition of theinvention. For example, lactic protein, particularly caseinate, becauseit has a profound effect on emulsion formation and stability, is aconventional if not essential component of most known particulatewhiteners, and is excluded from the present composition. Thus, theexpression “consisting essentially of” as used herein is meant toexclude components, such as caseinate, which would materially affect thebasic and novel characteristics of the present compositions. Moreover,lactic proteins which are excluded from the present composition haveseveral negative effects which may include unsightly acid-orthermally-induced aggregation during production or beverage preparation,support of the growth of harmful bacteria such as salmonella andlisteria, allergic reaction in sensitive individuals, and significantlyincreased finished product cost.

The water content of the emulsion is suitable 30-80%, preferably 35-65%,and more preferably 40-50%, the balance being solids. The term “solids”as used herein in connection with the emulsion is intended to includeall of the ingredients of the emulsion, other than water, irrespectiveof whether the ingredient is solid at room temperature. Theseingredients constitute the spray-dried product.

The emulsion is prepared by combining the ingredients to form an aqueousmixture, followed by high shear mixing/emulsification andhomogenization, to produce an oil-in-water emulsion in which the meanoil droplet size is not more than 10 μm, preferably not more than 5 μm,and more preferably not more than 3 μm.

Preferably, the coffee component is provided as an aqueous coffeeextract solution, and pH is adjusted to a target value within the rangesmentioned above prior to addition of the oil component. The aqueoussolution preferably includes all of the water required for the emulsion.The oil component is preferably introduced in liquid form, such as bymelting the oil component, and the aqueous solution is preferably heatedto a temperature sufficient to maintain the oil in the liquid state.Filler and other optional ingredients may be added at any time but arepreferably dissolved in the aqueous solution, which is preferably heatedto facilitate dissolution of the filler, prior to introducing the oilcomponent. For preparing a spray dried product, of course, the filler isrequired in order to serve as a spray drying carrier/oil encapsulator,except in formulas exceeding 30% coffee by weight based on the dryweight of the solids including oil.

After combining the ingredients, the liquid mixture is subjected to highshear mixing followed by homogenization to form the oil-in-wateremulsion. High shear mixing is suitably carried out with a conventionalhigh shear mixer at a shear rate of about 3000 to 30,000 sec⁻¹,preferably about 5000 to 15,000 sec¹. Homogenization is suitably carriedout in conventional homogenizing equipment such as suitable forhomogenizing milk. Homogenization is preferably carried out in a twostage homogenizer and under conditions which produce an oil-in-wateremulsion in which the mean oil droplet size is not more than 10 μm,preferably not more than 5 μm, and more preferably not more than 3 μm.

The emulsion is then spray dried. Conventional equipment for spraydrying coffee or whiteners may be employed. The emulsion is preferablyheated to facilitate spray drying, preferably at temperatures suitablefor spray drying of instant coffee. A temperature of about 60-90° C. issuitable.

Spray drying is preferably conducted under conditions such that themoisture content of the spray dried product is less than 5% andpreferably less than 3%. On a dry basis, the content of the essentialingredients of the spray dried self whitening coffee is as follows:

Amount (wt %) Component Suitable Preferred More Preferred Coffee 10-70 15-60 30-45 Oil 5-60 15-50 25-40 Filler 0-85  0-60 10-40 Emulsifier 0-102-6 3-5

Of course the spray dried product would also include the pH adjustmentcomponent. The amount of the pH adjustment component that is present inthe spray dried product would simply result from the amount thereof thatwas necessary to achieve the desired pH during preparation of theemulsion. The amount of ph adjustment component (e.g., buffer) wouldtypically be from about 0.1 up to about 10% by weight based on the dryweight of the spray dried self whitening coffee, preferably about0.2-6%, and more preferably 0.3-5%.

The spray dried self whitening instant coffee may be used as such tomake a coffee beverage. It is preferred to employ the self whiteningcoffee in dry mix compositions for preparation of sweetened coffeebeverages which may also include additional flavors such as hazelnut,vanilla, mocha, or the like. Such compositions usually are in the formof a mechanical mixture of a particulate soluble coffee component, aparticulate whitener component, and a particulate sweetener component.The use of particulate whitener can be reduced or preferably eliminatedfrom such dry mix compositions which contain the present self-whiteningcoffee. This can provide benefits such as dry mixes having a moreuniform brown color, lower cost, higher density, or reduced packagesize. Another advantage is that the absence of lactic protein in theself-whitening coffee reduces its susceptibility to microbial growth andeliminates the need for salmonella testing which is a routine, lengthy,and costly regulatory requirement for ensuring the food safety ofparticulate whiteners. As mentioned above, a filler of the presentinvention can itself be a sweetener or may include a sweetener.Accordingly, where the filler is or includes a sweetener, the selfwhitening coffee of the present invention may be employed to replacesome or all of such a mechanical mixture. It is a particular advantagethat the self whitening coffee product of the present invention can beused with such sweetened coffee beverage compositions of the type thatemploy a dry mix chemical carbonation system to generate foam when thecomposition is dissolved in hot water. Such chemical carbonation systemsrely on the interaction between a food grade acid, such as citric acid,and sodium or potassium carbonate or bicarbonate, to generate carbondioxide upon dissolution of the composition in hot water. The carbondioxide creates foam, producing a cappuccino type beverage. The acidcomponent of such chemical carbonation system causes “feathering” ofproteinaceous components such as caseinate. It is a particular advantagethat the self whitening coffee of the present invention avoids suchfeathering when employed in dry mix instant cappuccino compositionswhich include such a chemical foam generating system.

The invention is further illustrated in the examples which follow.

EXAMPLE 1

Spray dried Robusta instant coffee powder (157 grams) and 374 grams of24 DE corn syrup solids (CSS) are dissolved in 1000 g of 80° C. water.Disodium phosphate (DSP) (15 grams) is then added to increase the pH ofthe solution to 6.2. Partially hydrogenated soybean oil (PHSBO) (454grams) having a melting point of 40° C. is melted and added to thesolution. The solution is emulsified using a model# L4R Silverson highshear laboratory mixer/emulsifier with a fine screen attachment. Thesolution is mixed for 30 minutes at 8,000 rpm to form an oil-in-wateremulsion. The emulsion is then homogenized using a model# 15MR-8TBA APVGaulin two-stage homogenizer. The solution is passed through thehomogenizer twice, with a first stage homogenization pressure of 2200psi and a second stage homogenization pressure of 500 psi, to yield amean oil droplet size of <5 microns. The solution is then spray driedusing a model# LAB S1 W.O. 207 Anhydro spray dryer with a model# CD-63rotary atomizer, operating at a speed of 20,000 rpm. The productcollected from the spray dryer is free-flowing and has a moisturecontent of <2.0%. The final dry composition of the spray-dried powder is15.7% coffee, 37.46 CSS, 45.4% PHSBO, and 1.5% DSP. The powder dispersesquickly in hot water to provide a whitened coffee beverage with minimalsurface oil.

“Minimal surface oil” means no more than 20 visible oil droplets on thesurface of a beverage prepared by dissolving 6 grams of the selfwhitening coffee (SWC) in 8 oz. of 80° C. water. A beverage having agreater amount of surface oil may be judged to have an unappealingappearance and may also provide insufficient beverage whitening.

EXAMPLE 2

The procedure of Example 1 is followed using the same ingredients toprepare another spray dried instant self whitening coffee powder havinga dry composition of 42.6% coffee, 15.4% CSS, 38.4% PHSBO, and 3.6% DSP.The product collected from the spray dryer is free-flowing and has amoisture content of <2.0%. The spray dried powder and reconstitutedbeverage have a significantly darker color and stronger coffee flavorthan the reconstituted beverage of Example 1 due to the higher coffee tooil ratio, but the reconstituted beverage has the appearance of awhitened coffee beverage. No surface oil is present when the SWC isreconstituted in hot water.

EXAMPLE 3

130 grams of spray dried Arabica (Colombian) instant coffee powder and398 g of 24 DE CSS are dissolved in 1000 g of 80° C. water. DSP is thenadded to increase the pH of the solution to 6.2 PHSBO having a meltingpoint of 40° C. is melted and added to the solution. The solution isemulsified, homogenized, and spray dried under the same conditions asExample 1. The product collected from the spray dryer is free-flowingand has a moisture content of <2.0%. The final dry composition is 13.0%coffee, 39.8% CSS, 45.4% PHSBO, and 1.8% DSP. The powder dispersesquickly in hot water to provide a whitened coffee beverage with minimalsurface oil.

EXAMPLE 4

157 grams of spray dried Robusta instant coffee powder and 345 g of 24DE CSS are dissolved in 1000 g of 80° C. water. DSP was then added toincrease the pH of the solution to 6.2. PHSBO having a melting point of40° C. and sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL) were melted and added to thesolution. The solution is emulsified, homogenized, and spray dried underthe same conditions as Example 1. The product collected from the spraydrier is free-flowing and has a moisture content of <2.0%. The final drycomposition is 15.70 coffee, 34.5% CSS, 45.4% PHSBO, 3.1SSL, and 1.3%DSP. The powder disperses quickly in hot water to provide a whitenedcoffee beverage with minimal surface oil.

EXAMPLE 5

138 grams of spray dried Robusta instant coffee powder and 442 g of 24DE CSS are dissolved in 1000 g of 80° C. water. DSP is then added toincrease the pH of the solution to 6.2. PHSBO having a melting point of40° C. is melted and added to the solution. The solution is emulsified,homogenized, and spray dried under the same conditions as Example 1. Theproduct collected from the spray dryer is free-flowing and has amoisture content of <2.0%. The final dry composition is 13.8% coffee,44.2% CSS, 35.0% PHSBO, 5.0% mono- and di-glycerides, and 2.0% DSP. Thepowder disperses quickly in hot water to provide a whitened coffeebeverage with no surface oil.

EXAMPLE 6

680 grams of an aqueous Robusta coffee extract, having a solids contentof 17%, and 374 g of 24 DE CSS are dissolved in 441 g of 80° C. water.DSP is then added to increase the pH of the solution to 6.2 PHSBO havinga melting point of 40° C. is melted and added to the solution. Thesolution is emulsified, homogenized, and spray dried under the sameconditions as Example 1. The product collected from the spray dryer isfree-flowing and has a moisture content of <2.0%. The final drycomposition is 12.1% coffee, 51.0% CSS, 35.0% HSBO, and 1.9% DSP. Thepowder disperses quickly in hot water to provide a whitened coffeebeverage with minimal surface oil.

Control of oil droplet size and stability against coalescence isimportant in order to maintain the emulsion of the SWC of the inventionduring spray-drying and to obtain a high level of whitening uponreconstitution in water. Improved emulsification capacity reduces theamount of surface oil and increases the whitening obtained in thereconstituted beverage. As shown in the examples which follow, we havefound that a combination of high-shear mixing and homogenization, alongwith adjustment of pH, provide optimal results.

EXAMPLE 7

Samples are prepared according to the procedure of Example 1 to identifythe maximum amount of oil which may be encapsulated in the SWC withoutresulting in any surface oil in the reconstituted SWC beverage. Theamount of water used is chosen to give finished SWC solutions containing50% water. The solution is emulsified using a model # L4R Silversonlaboratory high-shear mixer/emulsifier with a fine screen attachment.The solution is mixed for 20 minutes at 8,000 rpm in the Silverson highshear mixer to form an oil-in-water emulsion. The emulsion is thenhomogenized using the two-stage homogenizer. The solution is passedthrough the homogenizer twice, with a first stage homogenizationpressure of 2200 psi and a second stage homogenization pressure of 500psi, to yield a mean oil droplet size of <5 microns. The solution isthen spray-dried using the Anhydro spray-dryer with rotary atomizeroperating at a speed of 20,000 rpm. The product is free-flowing and hasa moisture content of <2.0%.

The emulsification capacity of the coffee is determined byreconstituting 6 g of each spray-dried SWC powder in 8 oz. of 80° C.water. Some SWC beverages were free of surface oil, others had a smallamount of surface oil, and others had a large amount of surface oil. Thehighest oil content which did not produce surface oil is identified foreach coffee level and the results are as follows:

Oil Levels Emulsification Coffee (%) DSP Evaluated (%) Capacity 15 1.5 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 20% oil 30, 35 30 3.4 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 25% oil35, 40 45 5.0 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 30% oil 40

The emulsification capacity of the self-whitening coffee product can beincreased by increasing the energy input during the emulsificationprocess. By doubling the high-shear mix time, the emulsificationcapacity of the 30% coffee formulation is increased from 25% oil to 35oil. This also increases the beverage whitening obtained in thereconstituted beverage.

EXAMPLE 8

Using the procedure of Example 7, a large number of solutions areprepared over a wide range of pH using disodium phosphate to control pHin order to identify the effect of pH on the emulsificationcharacteristics of SWC solutions prepared at 50% solids concentration,employing the powder product of Example 1, in hot water. Results are asfollows:

Mean Oil Emulsion Flavor Overall pH Range Droplet Size Stability ImpactAcceptability 4.8-5.2 <20 μm very low very low poor 5.3-5.7 <15 μm lowlow marginal 5.8-6.2 <10 μm moderate low good 6.3-6.7  <5 μm high slightvery good >6.7  <5 μm high moderate good

It will be seen that higher pH produced smaller oil droplets whichprovide more stable emulsions with reduced surface oil and increasedbeverage whitening upon reconstitution of the spray-dried powders.Increasing the pH to an excessive degree can impart saltiness oralkalinity to the product and should be avoided for some productapplications.

EXAMPLE 9

A SWC is formulated by dissolving 157 grams of spray-dried Robustainstant coffee powder and 374 g of 24 DE CSS in 1000 g of 80° C. water.15 g of DSP is added to increase the pH of the solution to 6.2. 454 g ofmelted PHSBO is added and the solution is emulsified under the sameconditions described in Example 7, except the mix time is increased from20 to 40 minutes. The solution is spray-dried and the resulting powderis free-flowing and has a moisture content of <2.0%. The final drycomposition of the powder is 15.7% coffee, 37.4% CSS, 45.4% PHSBO, and1.5% DSP. The powder disperses quickly in hot water to provide awhitened coffee beverage with minimal surface oil. This result issimilar to that of Example 1 in which minimal surface oil is present inreconstituted beverages made with SWC produced in the same manner with a30 minute high shear mix. However, with a 20 minutes high shear mix asin Example 7, substantially less oil is emulsified.

EXAMPLE 10

This example demonstrates that use of a relatively large amount ofcoffee in the SWC formula can further improve the properties of theemulsion and provide an adequately whitened beverage having a strongcoffee flavor. The procedure of Example 1 is followed to prepare aspray-dried powder having a dry composition of 42.6% coffee, 15.4% CSS,38.46 PHSBO, and 3.6% DSP from a pH 6.2 solution. The product isfree-flowing and has a moisture content of <2.0%. The reconstitutedpowder produces a beverage free of surface oil having a significantlydarker cup color and stronger coffee flavor due to the higher coffee tooil ratio. Despite the high coffee level, the beverage has theappearance of a whitened coffee beverage.

Examples 11 and 12 demonstrate the utility of non-protein low molecularweight emulsifiers in improving SWC emulsification and reducing beveragesurface oil.

EXAMPLE 11

Robusta instant coffee powder and 24 DE CSS are dissolved in 80° C.water. DSP is added to increase the pH of the solution to 6.2. PHSBO andsodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL) are melted and added to the solution.The solution is emulsified, homogenized, and spray-dried under the sameconditions described in Example 1. The product is free-flowing and has amoisture content of <2.0%. The final dry composition is 15.7% coffee,34.5% CSS, 45.4% PHSBO, 3.1% SSL, and 1.3% DSP. The powder dispersesquickly in hot water to provide a whitened coffee beverage with minimalsurface oil.

EXAMPLE 12

Robusta instant coffee powder and 24 DE CSS are dissolved in 80° C.water. DSP is then added to increase the pH of the solution to 6.2.PHSBO and mono- and di-glycerides are melted together and added to thesolution. The solution is emulsified, homogenized, and spray-dried underthe same conditions described in Example 1. The product is free-flowingand had a moisture content of <2.0%. The final dry composition is 13.8%coffee, 44.2% CSS, 35.0% PHSBO, 5.0% mono- and di-glycerides, and 2.0%DSP. The powder disperses quickly in hot water to provide a whitenedcoffee beverage with no surface oil.

EXAMPLE 13

This example demonstrates that the present SWC emulsions can be gasifiedprior to spray-drying to produce powders which release encapsulated gasto create a head of foam in reconstituted beverages. A SWC slurrycontaining 30% Robusta coffee, 30% HSBO, 3% DSP, and 37% CSS is injectedwith pressurized carbon dioxide gas and spray-dried. When the spraydried powder is reconstituted in hot water, a head of foam develops onthe beverage. This demonstrates that the coffee still retains somedegree of surface activity even after it is employed to form andstabilize an oil-in-water emulsion during high-shear mixing andhomogenization.

EXAMPLE 14

This example demonstrates the unique compatibility of the present SWCproducts with chemical carbonation agents used to generate carbondioxide gas to create a head of foam in a reconstituted beverage. 10 gof the spray-dried powder from Example 3 is dry-blended with 0.12 gcitric acid, 0.38 g potassium bicarbonate, and 10 g sugar. The mixtureis reconstituted in 80° C. water to produce a whitened cappuccino-typecoffee beverage having a head of foam and having a clean beveragesurface after dissipation of the foam.

The use of chemical carbonation agents in combination with conventionaldairy or non-dairy creamers containing sodium caseinate results information of undesirable floating protein aggregates on the surface ofthe beverage after dissipation of the foam. As such, it should be clearthat an added and unexpected benefit of the present invention is theprovision of a means to avoid acid-denaturation of sodium caseinate inchemically-carbonated dry mix instant cappuccino beverage compositions.

Although the invention has been described in considerable detail withrespect to preferred embodiments thereof, variations and modificationswill be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. Self-whitening spray dried instant coffee havingan average particle size of 50 to 200 μm, and consisting essentially of10-70% soluble coffee, 5-60% oil, 0-85% filler, and 0-10% low molecularweight emulsifier on a dry weight basis including the oil. 2.Self-whitening instant coffee according to claim 1 consistingessentially of 15-60% coffee, 15-50% oil, 0-60% filler, and 2-6% lowmolecular weight emulsifier on a dry weight basis including the oil. 3.Self-whitening instant coffee according to claim 1 consistingessentially of 30-45% coffee, 25-40% oil, 10-40% filler, and 3-5% lowmolecular weight emulsifier on a dry weight basis including the oil. 4.Self-whitening instant coffee according to any one of claims 1, 2, or 3wherein said oil comprises vegetable oil.
 5. Self-whitening instantcoffee according to claim 4 wherein said oil comprises partiallyhydrogenated soybean oil.
 6. In a particulate, dry mix instantcappuccino composition comprising instant coffee, a whitener, and achemical foam generating system the improvement wherein the compositioncomprises a chemical foam generating system and a self-whitening spraydried instant coffee having an average particle size of 50 to 200 μm,and consisting essentially of 10-70% soluble coffee, 5-60% oil, 0-85%filler, and 0-10% low molecular weight emulsifier on a dry weight basisincluding the oil.